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TEMPE, Ariz. – The Saint Francis softball team travels to Arizona State this weekend to begin Spring Break week at the Diamond Devil Invitational.  The Red Flash is 6-5 this season after going 3-3 at the ECU Pirate Clash last weekend.
 
Saint Francis plays two games on Saturday at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium, beginning with a Noon contest against No. 21 Minnesota.  The day continues with a 7:30 p.m. game vs. No. 19 Arizona State.
 
Sunday features a doubleheader with a 1 p.m. game vs. Mount St. Mary's and a 3 p.m. contest against Arizona State.
 
The week continues on Wednesday with a doubleheader vs. Grand Canyon, beginning at 2 p.m.
 
SMASHING SENECA
Sophomore shortstop Jordan Seneca (Plum, Pa./Plum) earned the first NEC Player of the Week award this season for her performance through the first two weekends.  She leads the team in batting average (.417), hits (15), doubles (4), home runs (3), RBI (16) and slugging percentage (.778).

Through 11 games, Seneca has five multi-hit performances and four multi-RBI games.  She had five RBI in wins over UNC Wilmington and UMass, with homers in both games.  She also homered against Eastern Kentucky.

Seneca has already topped her home run and RBI totals from the 2015 season.
 
NEWCOMERS
Freshmen have made a big impact for the Red Flash in the first two weekends, including Hayley Norton (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove), who was named NEC Rookie of the Week. 

Norton is second on the team with a .368 batting average.  She has 14 hits, including three doubles, three triples and two homers, while driving in 15 runs.  Norton currently leads Division I in triples and ranks 17th in RBIs.

Kassidy Troxell (Navarre, Ohio/Perry) is batting .364 in nine games, while Sierra McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is hitting .333 through 11 games and leads the team with 13 runs scored.  Cheyenne McKee (DuBois, Pa./DuBois) is batting 294 with 10 hits and 10 runs scored.

Through 11 games, five freshmen have appeared in at least nine games.  Freshmen have combined for 52 of the team's 85 hits (61 percent) and 37 of 72 runs (51 percent).
 
AMONG DIVISION I LEADERS
Along with Norton's rankings on the triples and RBI lists, the Red Flash rank among the nation's leaders In several categories.

Seneca ranks eighth in the nation in RBIs, with 16, and 32nd in RBI per game (1.45).  Norton is also 49th in RBI per game (1.36).  Seneca's three home runs ranks 40th in Division I.

Junior Kindra Witthus (Hudson, Wis./Hudson) is 10th in Division I in on-base percentage, with a .676 mark.  S. McKee is 55th in runs per game, averaging 1.18.

On the pitching side, junior Ketarah DeVries (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) ranks 45th in strikeouts per seven innings, with 8.8.  She has 20 strikeouts in 16 innings.
 
SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
Arizona State, ranked 19th in the NFCA Poll, is 11-1 this season after going 5-0 last weekend as it hosted the Littlewood Classic.  The Sun Devils earned wins over Michigan State (5-2), Memphis (11-3), Illinois State (6-0), Northern Iowa (3-1) and Montana (9-2).

The Sun Devils have a team batting average of .364.  Taylor Becerra leads the team with a .520 batting average, including 13 hits and two RBI.  Abby Spiel is hitting .485 with 16 hits and 12 runs scored, while Chelsea Gonzales owns a .484 average with three doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI.  Jennifer Soria has started all 12 games with a .364 average, two homers and 11 RBI, as well as 14 runs scored

In the circle, Dale Ryndak leads ASU with an 0.68 ERA in 20.2 innings.  She has a 4-0 record in five appearances, including four starts.  Ryndak has 13 strikeouts and only one walk.  Breanna Macha has a 1.56 ERA in 27 innings over six appearances, with four starts.  She has 17 strikeouts and two walks to help her to a 4-1 record.  Kelsey Kessler leads the Sun Devils with 33 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.  She has a 1.79 ERA and a 3-0 record in eight appearances, including four starts.
 
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS
Minnesota is 5-4 this year and ranked 21st in the NFCA Poll.  Last weekend, the Golden Gophers earned two wins against Virginia Tech, 8-0 and 9-3, but lost two games, 5-4 and 2-0, against No. 13 Florida State.

The Gophers have a team batting average of .299, with five players over .300. Sam Macken is batting .433 with 13 hits, including six doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.  Sydney Fabian is batting .375, while Kayla Wenner holds a .360 average. 

A second team NFCA All-American last year, Sara Groenewegen leads the team with a 2.14 ERA in 36 innings.  She is 4-2 in six starts, while striking out 52 batters and walking six.  Kylie Stober is 1-1 in three appearances, including two starts, with a 2.17 ERA in 9.2 innings.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNT
Mount St. Mary's makes its season debut this weekend, beginning on Friday with games against Houston and Minnesota.  The Mount was picked to finish eighth in the NEC in the Preseason Poll after going 11-33 last year. 

Junior Rachel Heinze is the leading returning hitter for The Mount.  She batted .278 with 25 hits last year, including five doubles and six homers.  She drove in 19 runs and scored 13.  Sophomore Morgan Alisauckas hit seven home runs last year, with 25 RBI, while batting .367.  Junior Jessica Greenewald hit 2.272 and led the team with 22 runs scored.

Sophomore Marian Ruf returns after leading The Mount with 103.1 innings pitched last season.  She finished 3-16 in 19 starts with a 5.49 ERA.  The Mount pitching staff had a combined ERA of 6.35 last year.